Not exactly roughing it

The Wall Street Journal Europe

Updated Dec. 28, 2007 12:01 a.m. ET

OF ALL SPORTS, golf is perhaps the most susceptible to the coulda-woulda fantasy that many of us, especially men, indulge: namely, that had our lives unfolded just a bit differently, we, too, could have been pro athletes. In golf, we play the same game as the pros, with more or less the same equipment, sometimes even on the same courses. And every once in a while, we inadvertently squeeze out shots that even the top Tour players couldn't improve upon.

Our affinity with the pros has not been lost on marketers. It underlies...